Frozen Wounds
by Westward
Summary: With the sudden illness of Father Time, the Guardians are called upon his death bed to pay their respects. Jack Frost, who's never met Father Time, soon finds himself alone again when the deity forces Jack into the past to retrieve his last wish. With only a short time limit, Jack finds himself in trouble when he stumbles into a certain sister who is still mourning over his death.
1. Winter Activities

**Chapter One: Winter Activities**

Jack loved being out in the rural areas, where the cold lasted longer and he was more freely able to manipulate the cold around him. The space was another factor, as he had enough room to jump around and fly, bringing his frost with him wherever he went. Plus, it was always the kids who lived in the countryside that were more readily able to believe in him. And Jack loved being believed in.

What Jack didn't love was school.

Whenever Jack was in his home town of Burgess, he made it a goal to spend time with Jamie whenever possible. Come day or night, sickness or school, Jack Frost was by Jamie's side when he visited. Jack and Jamie shared a brotherly bond, most likely formed due to Jamie being the first child who believed in Jack. And that bond had grown during the two years since they had known each other. This bond, apparently, was strong enough that Jack didn't mind spending the occasional tedious day or two in school with Jack.

With the sun just beginning to lean towards the west in Burgess, Jack knew that school was almost over. And he was extremely grateful for that. With that in mind, he just smiled and kicked up his feet on the small desk, staff resting on his lap. The contact of his bare feet on the desk made a noise, and most of Jamie's class turned around to look at the source of the noise. Most of the kids could see him, and snickered, while the others frowned in confusion. Jack waved to them nonchalantly before the teacher could speak up.

"Something must have fallen over." The teacher muttered to herself before returning to the whiteboard, writing down the day's final math problems. She turned to face the students, unaware that an unwanted winter spirit had joined their class. "Okay students, who can solve these problems?"

Jack, feeling somewhat bored, perked up that. There was a sparkle in his eyes, and he smirked. Slowly, Jack raised his right hand, catching the attention of nearby believing students, and started to stutter out an "Ooh! Ooh!"

Jamie watched Jack's childish behavior and let out a small laugh, which only made the teacher's astute eyes target the small boy.

"Maybe _you_ know the answer to this, Jamie." The teacher stated as she crossed her arms with an irritated look on her face..

"Uh . . ." Jamie stuttered before giving a glance back at Jack, who was invisible to the teacher.

Math wasn't one of Jamie's strongest subjects, and the teacher knew this. Jamie felt his face blush red in embarrassment as looked at Jack for the answer. The other children who could see Jack also turned, and Jack's smile faltered slightly. Jack shrugged at the boy's uncertainty, feeling slightly guilty for forcing the kid to answer.

"Two hundred sixty five?" Jack offered, feeling unsure of himself. Jack never went to school when he was a human, but he had a feeling that math would have never been his strongest subject either.

Without further delay, Jamie relayed Jack's answer to the teacher. The teacher thought for a second before surprisingly nodding her head in approval. Jamie let out a visible sigh of relief and sank into his chair, Jack's roaring laughter at his luck making him smile.

The class continued their work for a few minutes longer before the last bell rang off. Jack instantly jumped up, staff in hand, and landed slowly on the top of the desk. He rushed forward, jumping on the tops of the small desks faintly before landing next to Jamie. Jack put an arm around the human's shoulders, and the two friends made their way out of the classroom and towards Jamie's locker.

The halls were crazy as the children who believed in Jack Frost saw him. It was as if the very sight of the winter spirit caused a ripple of excitement through all of them. The students gave him high fives, and even someone threw a foot ball at him. Jack caught it easily, much to the amazement at unaware children as the football hovered out of thin air. Jack blew on the football, covering it in a thin layer of ice before throwing it back at the kid. The kid had trouble catching it, but was grateful just the same.

"Thanks, Jack!" The kid said before running off with his friends, happy that they could now play a game of what they dubbed, "Frosty Football" named after Jack.

"No problem." Jack said gleefully as he turned around to face the retreating kids, and then began walking backwards. He turned slightly to look at the boy walking with him. "So what's the plan, Jamie? Hockey, sledding?"

They stopped by Jamie's locker, and the kid quickly retrieved his winter coat and hat. Jack leaned against the lockers next to Jamie's, poking at the child's foot with his magical staff, and patiently waited for the kid to suit up for winter fun. Of course, Jack wasn't bothered by the cold; he had no need for warmer clothes other than his brown pants and frostbitten blue hoodie. With his body temperature at a comfortable chill of 23 degrees Fahrenheit, who would?

Jamie swung his backpack on and turned to look at the winter spirit.

"Hockey sounds good." Jamie agreed with an excited smile, but he frowned slightly as he looked out the nearest window. "But it looks like last week's snow is almost gone."

"Well . . ." Jack said slowly, gripping his staff tighter as he stepped off of the lockers. Jamie could see a sparkle in Jack's silver blue eyes, and the kid knew that the other was up to something. "I know a _certain_ winter spirit that could possibly change that."

"Oh?" Jamie asked with fake confusion, his voice inflecting higher. "And who might that be?"

Jack smirked, "I'll give you a hint."

And with that, Jack sprinted down the emptying halls, barely touching the ground with his bare feet. He held his staff at an arm's length away, using the staff to lighten his weight and speed himself up until he was as fast as a gush of wind. With a couple twists and turns through the small school, Jack pushed the front doors open with a harsh shove and finally stepped outside into the melting winter day.

Jack only caught a quick glimpse at a few children playing in what snow that was there before leaping up into the air. Jack opened his arms up, and used his staff to fly to the top of the three story school building. He deftly landed on the rooftop, leaving frosted footprints in his wake and stared over the small town of Burgess.

Jamie was right; his handiwork from last week was already melting away. And with December just a couple days away the thought of a barely white winter didn't sit well with Jack. He took in a deep breath, held it for a small moment, and then exhaled. The result was a small, translucent snowflake. Jack admired his work for a second before touching the falling snowflake with his staff. Before his eyes, thousands upon thousands of nearly identical snowflakes came into being, falling from the sky, and then covered the small town in a thick blanket. The clouds overhead seemed to take over Jack's work for him, and it soon gave off a trickle of small snowflakes.

Down below him, the sounds of children all gasping at once caught Jack's attention. Jack looked down and soon saw the children from school stop and stare at the falling snow. Some even saw Jack and pointed at him. They didn't move for a long minute, just enjoying the pretty sight. The collective silence wouldn't last though, as the children's excitement broke like shattered glass.

Jack couldn't help but laugh as a snowball fight was inevitably started just below him in the school yard. Jack hopped down onto the ground with a small spring in his step and hastily joined the ensuing fight. Children who could see him soon decided to make the winter spirit their walking target, while the few clueless children continued to wildly throw small balls of snow.

Jack easily dodged all snowballs thrown at him, dancing around the children. A few kids had good enough aim to land a couple on Jack, but Jack was just too fast for most of the kids. However, soon most of the kids turned on Jack, and it became a seventeen on one, making Jack the children's easy prey.

"Okay guys, this is where it gets serious." Jack said with a wide smile as he bent over and scooped up a handful of wet snow. Before Jack could chuck his snowball at the nearest bundled up kid, a tightly compacted snowball hit the back of Jack's head, making the Guardian cringe slightly. He turned around, only to see Jamie standing ten feet away with his hockey stick in hand. Jack stared at him, almost accusingly. "What?"

"You still have to freeze the Pond over before we can start the game." Jamie said, fidgeting slightly as he impatiently waited for Jack.

Jack nodded and dropped the snowball in his hand. He pranced over to Jamie, only glancing back at the snowball fight to shout, "Hockey game at the Pond!"

His call was answered by a few _Sweet's_, a couple _let me go grab my skates'_, and surprisingly one _where are you guys going?_ Jack waved to the dispersing children and headed towards the Pond, Jamie right beside him. The two walked through the small town at a quick pace, talking and enjoying the new, pristine winter weather Jack had brought upon them.

"How's North doing?" Jamie asked once they reached the edge of town.

Jack made a face. "Well, you know. Probably pulling out his hair at the moment. Christmas is in a couple weeks, and the whole North Pole is a wreck. I honestly haven't been up there since October."

"I thought he's been working non-stop since you guys defeated Pitch?" Jamie asked, frowning in slight confusion.

"He has." Jack quickly stated, almost cutting Jamie off. His response was a little too quick. There was a small trace of guilt on his face, and the winter spirit sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth before admitting. "I might have . . . accidentally destroyed a large part of the toys."

"You what?!" Jamie said as he reeled on his heels. His brown eyes were wide in panic, matching the shocked expression plastered on his face.

"Relax Jamie, it wasn't that bad." Jack said as he put his hand on Jamie's hat and patted it. "North said it was okay, and I cleaned up the mess I made. No harm done."

Jamie wanted to retort, but kept his mouth shut. If Jack said that everything was fine, then hopefully everything was fine. Hopefully. And Jamie remained silent for a long second, but he couldn't hold his curiosity forever.

"What did you do, Jack?" Jamie asked, his curiosity seeping through his voice.

Jack looked down at the younger boy and smirked. "I made one of the hallways into a giant slip and slide. Some of the yetis enjoyed it actually, but they forgot it was there when they moved some of the stock over to the hangers. It . . . wasn't pretty."

Jack grimaced, and the conversation seemed to stop at that. It wasn't long before they reached the Pond, and there were a few other kids, including Cupcake, who were already strapping their skates on. They sat on the snow, trying their laces and already picking teams. Jack smirked as he heard that he was the most debated team member. That was obvious, as he was as light and agile as the wind when he was on ice, making him the most valuable player.

Jamie joined the other kids and was already claiming the right to be team captain. There were only a few mumbles of disappointment, but that soon disappeared as they saw Jack approach the Pond to freeze it over. Jack leaped onto the pond, ice forming where he landed. He began to run the distance of the Pond with the top of his staff trailing behind his feet. In his wake was a small layer of ice four feet in diameter, and growing.

Within a moment the Pond was completely covered with a thin sheet of ice, and Jack began to double over it to thicken the coat. The kids waited, slightly awed, as Jack nimbly danced over the Pond, smiling cheekily as he did so. However, one kid in particular was eager to begin the game and he waddled over to the edge of the Pond. He didn't even notice how thin the ice still was.

As Jack had his back on the kids, a boy in a red sports jacket began stepped on the edge of the pond and tested the ice. After only a few seconds, the red jacket boy looked content with the results and started to pick up speed, prancing across the ice.

Suddenly there was a_ crack_! The red jacket boy froze, letting out a gasp as his gaze instantly fell to the ice. There was a crack akin to a broken eggshell right underneath his feet and it seemed like his whole world fell into silence. Just as another large piece of the ice fractured, the boy felt something pull on the nape of his red jacket. He felt himself rise up into the air just as the ice gave way beneath him, screams of some of the frightened children filling his ears.

The kid looked up only to see that Jack was hoisting himself up in one hand while tightly grasping his staff in the other. Jack flew over to the side of the Pond and roughly dropped the boy just a couple feet off of the ground. The red jacket kid landed with an _oof_ and quickly turned his attention up to Jack, Jamie and the others following suit.

Jack was still floating in the air, looking unnaturally upset at the kid. His mouth was set into a thin line, forming a frown, and his eyebrows meshed together, displaying how angry he was. Another silence fell over the kids and they looked up at Jack, slightly scared from seeing his nice misdemeanor change right before their eyes.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" Jack shouted as he finally fell back down to solid ground. He crossed his arms and stared down the kid he had just saved. "Do you know how dangerous thin ice is? You could have drowned to death in that pond!"

The poor kid looked up at Jack. His eyes were wide and found his mouth unable to function. However, Jamie was quick to react and he put a hand on Jack's nearest shoulder. The contact between the two seemed to extinguish Jack's sudden anger, and the winter's spirit's hard gaze softened until he was too embarrassed to make any eye contact with the children.

"It was just a mistake, Jack." Jamie said softly, defending his friend.

That seemed to make Jack hunch his shoulders in embarrassment, and he turned away. Jack nervously brought a hand up to his hair and ran it through his perfectly white locks. It was obvious that Jack realized his mistake in his outburst and he wasn't comfortable with it.

"Look I'm sorry. It's just . . ." Whatever words Jack was trying to form wasn't capable of leaving him.

Jack sucked in a deep breath and turned to look at Jamie, one of his closest friends. Jamie looked back at Jack, his eyes telling the winter spirit that he was confused, and wanted to know the truth. _"It's just that I fell through the ice on this same exact pond three hundred years ago and died."_ Jack's brain finished for him. But he couldn't tell his close friend that. Not yet.

Jack let out a sigh and forced a smile as he turned to look at the others. "It's just nothing. Let me finish coating the Pond, and then we can start."

None of the kids argued with the Guardian. They waited for him to coat the Pond with ice for a few more times before he declared the Pond ready for skating. After some hesitation, the kids flooded the Pond, racing around with Hockey sticks flailing. Jack wasn't as quick to fall back into his care-free façade as thoughts of his death hundreds of years ago still lingered in his mind.

But with a shout from Jamie, Jack snapped out of it and joined the Hockey lineup with the least amount of players, using his staff as a hockey stick. Cupcake pulled out a hockey puck from her pocket, kissed it, and the game began without further delay. Jack's outburst was soon forgotten, and he and the group of kids were fully into the game. Time passed, and soon the air was filled with Jack's bellowing laugh.

Hours later, they were just beginning their second game. The sun was now closing in on the horizon, and the cool air grew to a chilling level. Of course, Jack didn't even notice the temperature change, but it was beginning to take its toll on the children. It wasn't long before Jamie started shivering, chattering his teeth as he did so.

Sooner than later, Jamie's mom shouted for her son to come home. Jamie reluctantly went, followed soon after by the rest of the children.

"Goodbye, Jack!" One of the children said, waving as he made his way back into town.

Jack waved back, heaving a sigh soon afterwards. Now he was alone, and he would be until tomorrow afternoon. He put one hand in his hoodie pocket and kicked his staff up and caught it with the other. With a jump, Jack landed onto a tree branch and sat down, his back resting on the trunk. Jack let out another sigh before closing his eyes, resting them.

With nothing else to do, Jack fell asleep.


	2. Respect Thy Elder

**Chapter 2: Respect Thy Elder**

Jack wasn't asleep for long before someone woke him up.

"_Psst_." Something whispered to Jack. The disturbance barely stirred the winter spirit, and the voice was forced to repeat itself a second time. _"Psst. Jack!"_

Still, there was no response from the winter spirit. If anything, Jack waved the annoying voice away with his free hand, letting out a groan. And then seconds later Jack was back to a motionless form.

"Aw crickey." The voice muttered in irritation, Australian accent strong. There was a rustle in a patch of bushes not far from the tree where Jack was perched. Out of the bushes stepped out a hunched over Bunnymund, the source of the voice. Bunny picked himself straight up before crossed his arms in clear annoyance. He looked up at Jack's sleeping form and shook his head in disbelief. "Why is it that right when I need ya', I find you snoozing off."

Bunnymund received no response, as that was expected. With another shake of his head, Bunny bent down and formed a snowball in his big paws. With a testing toss, Bunny threw the snow ball at Jack with amazing accuracy. The snowball hit its target, the exposed skin of Jack's neck, and Jack cried out in shock as he woke up.

"Wha?!" Jack said as he shot up into an upright position.

Jack's eyes instantly opened, and he jumped slightly when he moved, losing his balance and falling off of the thick tree branch. He fell to the ground, groaning as his body made contact with the snow covered ground, his staff following seconds later. Jack raised his head out of the snow and saw Bunnymund looking down on him with a slight frown. Jack let out a second groan before he picked himself up.

"You know, you could have been a little softer on the wake up call." Jack stated as he picked up his staff. He rubbed the spot on his neck where Bunny's projectile hit him, and then cracked his neck. "Nice aim, though."

"For the record, I tried a nice wake up call. Didn't work." Bunny stated in his Australian accent. He leaned against the tree's trunk and crossed his arms. Bunny kept his green eyes on the winter spirit as he continued to speak. "And thanks, I've been practicing ever since Pitch disappeared."

"Well, it's certainly improved. No offense." Jack said just as Bunny was about to start, a sly smile on his face. Jack cracked a smile, accompanied by a soft laugh as Bunny heaved a disciplined groan for self control. Suddenly, Jack realized that Bunny was _here._ "Why are you bothering me, Bunny? "

Bunnymund's face darkened as he frowned. "Something's gone wrong, mate. We're needed up at the North Pole."

That got Jack's attention, and his somehow joking attitude disappeared and looked straight into Bunny's green eyes. Jack made a questioning face, and Bunny seemed to understand it, nodding in reply. With a concerned look on his face, Jack instantly jumped back up into the tree. Leaping from branch to branch, Jack halted when he was on the highest branch that was sturdy enough to support his wait. Jack looked up at the sky, and sure enough the Aurora Borealis was shining beautifully in the skies.

It was a desert mirage in the sky. Bright colors of purple, sea-foam green, and a chilling blue danced across the sky in swirls, lines, and other amazing patterns. They shimmered in the sky, shining off of Jack's pale face, giving the winter spirit's complexion an array of colors. No doubt that the Burgess townspeople were peaking out of their windows to look at the spectacular display, but Jack could only think that the colors were warnings from North.

Jack kept his eyes on the shining colors, but felt the branch beneath is feat shudder as Bunny joined him. The winter spirit felt one of Bunny's paws on his shoulders, and he turned to look at the rabbit.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, his voice full of concern. "Did something happen to North? Tooth? Sandy?"

Bunny shook his head slowly. "No, nothing like that. Something worse."

Bunny jumped down onto the ground, and Jack followed closely, albeit a little more softly and quietly. Jack clenched his staff tightly, showing how nervous he was.

Premature thoughts of Pitch already returning were clouding his mind, and a wave of nausea rolled through the immortal being. He thought that they had defeated Pitch, and although it was inevitable that he would return in the future, Jack thought that that would have been centuries from now, not months. Jack was not prepared for Pitch to return.

Before Jack could ask for further details, Bunny stomped the ground. Moments later, a hole big enough for two formed, and Bunny looked up at Jack expectantly. As if on instinct, Jack took a half-step backwards, away from the hole with a disgruntled look on his pale face.

"No thanks, I'd rather fly there, Bunny." Jack stated in a hesitated manner while taking another step away.

"Aw, come 'ere you big baby." Bunny said, slightly amused.

The rabbit put one of his paws on Jack's back and pushed him forwards into the hole. Jack managed to stop on the very edge of the hole, trying to keep his balance. He held his arms out, staff in one hand, and barely kept himself from falling forwards. Jack's movements were jerky as he tried to balance himself, but with another push from Bunnymund, the winter spirit fell forwards, down the hole.

"Woah!" Jack shouted as he fell down the hole, his voice growing fainters as the seconds ticked by.

Bunny couldn't help but chuckle at the kid's displeasure. Sure, the two were on better terms ever since Jack became the newest Guardian, but that didn't mean that they couldn't tease and get on the other's nerves. Jack sure did that, so why couldn't Bunny? Bunny couldn't wait any longer, and jumped into the hole. Seconds later, there was no trace of the two Guardians ever being at the Pond, and the hole closed up.

It wasn't very long of a travel. In reality, half a minute later the two Guardians plopped out of the underground tunnel and onto one of North's deserted hallways. Jack slowly picked himself up, feeling his body already grow sore from the rough journey in the tunnel. Bunnymund, who was accustomed to this travel, had landed on his feet and was now helping Jack get back on his.

"Next time," Jack groaned as he stretched his back, "warn me when you pull something like that."

"No worries mate." Bunny responded as he patted Jack's back for him. "Now come on, wouldn't want to keep the others from waiting too long."

Jack nodded at that, and the two made their way to North's private room. A yeti was waiting by the door, and opened it up for them, revealing that Tooth, with Baby Tooth, and Sandy had already arrived. Jack paused in his footsteps, noticing Tooth's anxious face. And it looked like Sandy wasn't faring any better. Jack frowned, knowing that whatever had brought the guardian's together was not on good conditions.

North was by the globe, which shined brightly with each believing child. He had his arms crossed, and was unmoving even when the last two Guardians arrived. With his back turned on the other Guardians, Jack couldn't read the man expressions. Jack came to Tooth's side, and she gave the winter spirit a half-hearted smile.

"What's going on?" Jack whispered to Tooth quietly.

"Something that is unavoidable, Jack." North spoke loudly as he answered Jack's hushed question. North let out a heavy sigh before turning around to face the other Guardians. Jack had to suppress a gasp when he saw North's face; it was so heavy with sadness that it terrified Jack. Those eyes that were supposed to be filled with wonder were now filled with sorrow. "A good friend of mine, of ours, is ill. Very ill."

"And who is that?" Jack asked, still confused and scared.

Sandy looked at Jack and let out a silent breath. A golden sand mold of an hour glass formed above his head, however, the hourglass was set on its side, not allowing the sand on the inside to move freely. Jack got the hint and did let out a gasp before turning to look at North, silver blue eyes wide.

"No. Not Father Time." Jack whispered in an alarmed tone. Jack had never met Father Time, but knew of his importance in this world. If Father Time was sick, then there was more at stake other than the safety of the children.

"I'm afraid so Jack." North stated through a heavy sigh. The man rubbed his forehead slowly before returning his gaze back up at the rotating globe. His next words were spoken solemnly. "He thinks he will not recover, Jack. And he has requested that we be there for him."

Jack was at a loss of words for a second.

"But how can he not recover?" Jack questioned, his voice faltering slightly. "I thought Time couldn't die. What'll happen if he does?"

"We don't know, Jack." Tooth said slowly and her gaze dropped to the stone floor. Baby Tooth landed on her shoulder, and Tooth petted the small fairy gently before continuing. "The best we can hope for is that the Man in the Moon will choose a new Keeper of Time. But we're not sure if that's even possible . . ."

A cold silence fell over the five Guardians as Tooth's words had their full effect on them. Jack, seemed to act the most desperate out of the five of them, and looked at the others, searching for answers or for confidence. He found none, and found his fingers beginning to tremble.

Jack tried to speak firmly, but his voice was quivering. "But if he dies, does that mean the world—"

"Father Time is the oldest of us all. Only he will know what will happen if he passes." North stated, cutting off the youngest of the Guardians. Suddenly, North twisted around and walked towards the still open doors. He paused in the door way and put a large hand on the wooden frame. He turned his head to the side, glancing at the others. "Come, we must go pay our respects."

Without further discussion, Sandy, Bunny, and Tooth followed North through the door. Jack was the last one left, who had been too shocked to move his feet. Jack was youngest Guardian, that was true, but even he knew of the gravity of this situation. No Father Time meant . . . no more time at all. One thought just kept going through Jack's mind_, "Would the world just freeze in place forever?"_

With a sharp call of his name from Bunny, Jack snapped out of his rumination and caught up with the rest of the Guardians. They swiftly walked through the halls, making their way to where North's sleigh was being held. It didn't take long to reach the hanger, and there were several yetis already preparing the sleigh and reindeer.

"Oh, not this again." Bunny muttered, shaking his head in disapproval. This time it was Bunnymund who was taking a few steps back, but with a push from North, Bunny let out a groan. North led Bunny into the sleigh behind the others, and Bunny let out one final complaint. "Alright, but this is the last time North."

Sandy patted Bunnymund softly as encouragement, and the rabbit smiled at his friend as a thank you.

"It's not bad." North defended as he took the seat in the front of the sleigh. North picked up the reigns and tested them before motioning a yeti to come forward. A grey one stepped forward and North leaned towards the yeti. "Keep working on the toys. Christmas is around the corner and we must be prepared."

The yeti nodded and then cleared the area, allowing North to take off. The Guardian of Wonder pulled out his snow globe and threw it in the air. A magical portal opened up, swiveling colors surrounding the sides of the portal. North snapped the reigns and the reindeer pulled the sleigh forward into the magical portal. The sleigh left the ground, and soon disappeared as the portal swallowed the five Guardians up.

Within seconds, the sleigh exited the portal, and the five found themselves in a blizzard. Jack brought up his arm to cover his eyes as the harsh wind stung his face. Jack heard North shout something in Russian to his reindeer, and the sleigh accelerated sharply. To Jack's left, Bunnymund was muttering something about airsickness and was rocking slightly in his seat. The sound of Baby Tooth's flapping wings past Jack's ear, and then Jack felt the small fairy take residence inside his hoodie's pocket.

"Where are we?!" Jack asked, shouting above the roaring wind.

It was Tooth that answered him, her voice matching his in volume. "Deep in the Himalayas! We should be arriving shortly!"

Tooth was right; only minutes after she said it, the sleigh came in contact with a rough surface, causing the inhabitants to leap off of their seats uncontrollably. The sleigh still shot forward, and Jack risked uncovering his eyes to see where they had landed. What Jack saw was a large tunnel entrance thirty yards away. He looked down to see that the sleigh was sliding across what looked like grey, smooth marble.

North directed the sleigh into the tunnel's entrance, and the blizzard was left behind, howling as if angry that the five had left its wrath. The sleigh slowed down to a stop, and the Guardians were encased in darkness, the only light coming from behind them. There was a silence as North noticed this.

"This is not good." North muttered as he got out of the sleigh. "Father Time's power is too weak to power his Keep. I hope that we are not too late."

Bunnymund quickly jumped out of the sleigh, stretching his limbs freely. He let out a sigh of relief before cracking his neck and ruffling up his fur.

"How can we turn on the lights?" Bunnymund asked. And for an answer, Sandy let his sand prowess flow out. The glowing golden sand floated in the air, swirling around like waves on top of an ocean. Soon, there was enough light for the Guardians to see where they were walking. "Thanks Sandy."

The golden sand's light filled up Father Time's Keep, revealing a large hall filled with dozens upon dozens of Roman-like columns that amazed the winter spirit. They towered over Jack, most likely reaching a hundred feet in height to touch the high ceiling. Jack leapt to the nearest one and inspected it, noticing that the columns were in fact not made out of grey marble, but out of a hallow glass tube. Inside the column was a rushing of metallic silver sand, falling much like an hourglass's sand. Jack put an ear on the column and heard the sound of the silver sand falling.

Baby Tooth came out of Jack's hoodie and looked also examined the column. The small fairy made a shrill, and Tooth's head turned to see the two of them. She fluttered over to join them, and gasped when she saw the sand.

"That's not right." Tooth muttered as she shook her head frantically. "The sand should be shooting upwards, not falling."

"We must hurry, then." North ordered, heading down the now lit hall.

The five guardians headed down the hall, walking in silence as they did so. Baby Tooth landed on Jack's shoulder, and the winter spirit patted the fairy quickly before picking up his pace. They walked at a steady pace, but to Jack it seemed like it took them forever to reach the end of the hall. There, at the end of the hall was a pair of giant glass doors. The doors opened automatically as the Guardians approached them, and Jack found himself in a circular, dome shaped room.

The room itself seemed to be empty, nothing but the floor and the curved ceiling high above their heads. The only apparent object in the entire room was a podium-like structure made out of the same material as the floor. A large, almost flat bowl was attached to the structure, and its contents could not be seen.

Jack looked up and around the domed room, watching as Sandy's sand swirled around the room, revealing patterns on the curved ceiling. There were large dots covering the ceiling, connected together with lines that were a shade lighter than the ceiling's color. They combination of dots and lines formed shapes, and that's when Jack realized that they were constellations.

Constellations of Time.

A sickened cough broke the silence, and Jack turned to see the silhouette of a tall, elderly man standing at a doorway that he hadn't noticed before. Baby Tooth made a startled sound and quickly zipped into Jack's hoodie, which Jack patted to comfort her. Jack's attention returned to the elderly man as he stumbled forward, leaning heavily against a staff for support. Another hacking cough escaped the man, and North rushed over to help him. The man was thankful for the help, and put his free arm around North's shoulders. Together, the two stepped into Sandy's light, revealing the elderly man to be Father Time.

Father Time resembled North, albeit a much older, thinner version of the man. His beard was starch white and fell all the way down to the floor, his long white hair with it. The man wore ancient, round rimmed glasses that sat on the old man's rather large nose. The only things colorful of the man's face were his small, hazel eyes that spoke of a long life.

He wore a large grey cloak, akin to a monk's robes, although somewhat more graceful. His sleeves hung loosely, making it seem like there was more to the man than there actually was. A rather large pocket watch hung to Father Time's side, a ticking sound filling the air around him.

North helped Father Time to the podium structure, and the elder man grabbed a hold onto the large bowl. Father Time leaned over the bowl, and looked like he was about to begin another coughing fit. However, he recovered and then turned his attention to the other Guardians, hazel eyes piercing each and every one of them.

"You surely must know that I am dying." Father Time stated slowly in a raspy voice, cutting straight to the chase. "I will not last longer in my current state. I have gazed into the future, and seen for myself."

"Father Time, is there anything we can do?" Tooth asked as she fluttered over to his side.

"No!" Father Time snapped at the fairy, frowning at her. "There is nothing."

Tooth took a step backwards, startled by the Time Keeper's sudden antagonism towards her. She shared a glance with Bunnymund, who also noticed his reaction. With a saddened look on her face, Tooth pulled backwards, finding a place next to Jack.

"Father Time, we have come here—" North started.

"I know exactly why you five are here, Nicholas." Father Time finished for the Guardian. Once again, the old man coughed sickly. He lost his balance, and almost fell over to the ground. He would have if it wasn't for North's friendly catch. "Please, Nicholas, let me be."

North nodded solemnly and joined the rest of the guardians on the other side of the podium. There, the five waited for Father Time to speak to them, to tell them why the Keeper of Time had requested their presence here with his last hours. Father Time showed no sign of speaking anytime soon as he stared down into the bowl in front of him. So, the Guardians waited in silence.

Finally, Father Time looked up, his eyes resting on Jack Frost. He wet his lips before speaking.

"I know everything about every one of you. Your past, your present, and your future." Father Time started in a low, raspy voice. "I know every deed, good and bad, you five have done, and the reasons behind them. I've stared into your lives through this bowl, and I know you better than yourself."

That last part of that sentence was directed to Jack. The winter spirit gulped as the old man's hazel eyes stared straight through him and right into his soul. A shiver ran through Jack's spine, and for the first time in his life, Jack was chilled to the bone. All because of the look Father Time gave him.

"In return, I have given each you the chance to gaze upon whatever part of time you'd like. My gift, to the Guardians." Father Time stated, still looking straight at Jack. "All but one. The reason I called for you here is to fulfill one last Scry. Then my duty will be done, and I will be ready to pass. Step forward, Jack Frost."

Jack gripped his staff tighter, willing for his feet to move for him. But for some reason, his body remained where it was, unable to move closer to Father Time. It wasn't until Bunny gave Jack a soft kick in the rear did Jack approach the elderly being. He walked stiffly, unsure of his thoughts about Father Time.

Father Time nodded his head in approval and held up an open hand. Jack stood there for a second before hesitatingly taking the offered hand. For a fragile, weary man, Father Time's grip was strong and Jack suppressed a cry of pain.

"You may leave now." Father Time ordered sharply as he faced the other four Guardians. "Our time together will be short."

From the looks on the other Guardian's, it was clear to Jack that they didn't want to leave Jack's side. But with a stern look from Father Time, the four left, the light from Sandy's sand with them. The glass doors closed, leaving the two alone in the room. The four looked in the dark room, unable to see Jack without the light from the sand, but Jack could see their concerned faces.

"Now, Jack Frost, tell me what you desire to see?" Father Time asked in the darkness.


	3. Twisted Time

**Chapter Three:** **Twisted Time**

"What do I desire?" Jack asked, caught slightly off guard. Without Sandy's lights, the winter spirit felt trapped, confused, and slightly terrified being with the Keeper of Time alone in the dark. Yes, the man was close to death, but the impression he had made on Jack was not a good one.

"Yes, Jack Frost. What would you like to see? Your past, present, or future?" Father Time asked, growing short with the boy.

Jack didn't waste a moment to answer. "The past, please."

It was obvious; Jack would have given anything to see more of his past. The memories stored in his baby teeth only gave him so much, and jack wanted to know _more_. What was he like when he was human? What were his parents like? His sister? Did they miss him? And what happened to his family once he became the spirit of winter? There was so much Jack wanted to know, and he wasn't going to pass by this opportunity.

"Any particular time in the past?" Father Time ask, his voice growing softer, yet the grip on Jack's hand grew firmer. There was sound of clothes ruffling, but Jack couldn't tell what the Time Keeper was doing. "Tell me the specifics, Jack Frost."

"I . . . I want to see my sister, after I died." Jack spoke softly, his voice cracking halfway through. He paused as the sound of his sister's voice rang through his ears, calling his name. Jack knew he was imagining it, but it felt real enough to make him suck in a sharp breath of surprise. "I want to see her; I want to see what happened to her."

There was a click, and then a white light brightened the domed room. Jack moved to cover his eyes with his free hand, shielding them from the bright light. The light dimmed slightly after a few seconds, and Jack let his arm drop back down to his side.

The source of the bright light had been Father Time's pocket watch, which the man held in his open, wrinkly hand. Father Time brought the open pocket watch over the large bowl, and then turned it over. The light fell in, and Jack barely got a glance at what was making it. However, Jack could tell it was sand, just like Sandy's golden glowing sand. Just as half of the light entered the bowl, Father time closed the watch, sealing off the rest of the sand.

As for the sand that entered the bowl, it began to swirl around, acting more like a liquid than a solid. The sand dispersed until Jack couldn't see the bottom of the bowl. Father Time held his free hand over the bowl, and then began to move it in a circular motion. The glowing silver sand followed his movements, going counterclockwise in motion.

Father Time muttered some words in a language that Jack couldn't identify, and then the silver sand began to ripple. And then the sand began to change color. Before Jack's eyes, his sister's face, Pippa, appeared in the mirage of sand. Jack let out a gasp as his Pippa's face writhed with horror as the picture came alive.

_"Jack!"_ Her voice shouted, the sound of her fear making Jack's neck hairs stand up.

The sound of cracking ice filled the air, and Jack couldn't help but suck in a breath. This was when he fell through the ice and died. He was going to watch his sister watch his own death. This was not what Jack had had in mind.

_"Woah!"_ The sound of his own voice reached Jack's ears, but it was soon covered by his Pippa calling his name a second time, this time more desperate.

Through the bowl, Pippa screamed as she watched Jack fall through the ice. Her face was soon covered with tears, growing red as it did so, and Pippa fell to the ice. She called Jack's name another time and then began begging for him to come up, but he never did.

_"Jack? Please Jack, please come up!"_ Pippa begged through her loud sobs. _"I don't want you to leave me! You said you would never leave me! You promised!" _

Pippa began crawling towards the hole Jack had fallen through, bringing her close to her own death. Jack watched this with horror, knowing that Pippa could have met the same fate if she didn't back away. Jack grabbed the sides of the bowl, clenching onto it until his knuckles turned whiter than usual.

"No, no!" Jack called out at Pippa through the bowl. Pippa couldn't hear him though, as this was just a picture of her, and not his real sister. But that didn't cross Jack's mind, he just instinctively wanted Pippa to get away from the thin ice. "Get back, now!"

Pippa didn't stop, and she kept crawling towards the hole, determined to find and help her brother. However, just when she was getting close enough to break through the ice, a woman picked the sobbing child up and rushed away, holding onto Pippa for dear life.

_"No! We have to get Jack! We have to get Jack!"_ Pippa screamed, protesting against the woman holding her. Pippa tried ever so hard to break free from the woman's hold, but the most she did was mess up the woman's bun. _"I won't leave him!"_

_"It's too late, Pippa!"_ The woman said as she put the child down, but still kept a firm hold on the child's shoulders. The woman looked right into Pippa, her brown eyes watering with tears that stung her face, and Jack could see the similarities the two held. Then it hit Jack; that was his mother. _"Our Jackson is gone! Taken away from us. There's nothing we can do!"_

Pippa shook her head in disbelief, her face now red from her tears. He tried to force herself from their mother's grip, and after a second, broke free. As soon as Pippa was free, she ran to the edge of the Pond. Jack expected her to run back to the whole, but rather she stopped before her feet hit the ice.

_"You promised you wouldn't leave me, Jack!" _Pippa yelled at the whole, speaking to Jack. She must have known that enough time passed for Jack to die, but still she didn't give up hope. _"You promised!"_

"I didn't mean to!" Jack yelled back at the bowl, his eyes growing wet as almost frozen tears began to form. It didn't cross his mind that Pippa couldn't hear him; he wasn't thinking rationally at the moment. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

And to Jack's horror, the sand lost its luminescence, and the image disappeared before his eyes. Pippa's cries for her brother grew fainter before vanishing altogether. All that was left was Jack's sniveling, and Father Time's knowing stare at the winter spirit. Jack couldn't look at the elderly man for a long time, knowing that he had already known what the boy was going to witness.

"Please, show me more." Jack asked, almost too low for the other to hear. "Don't stop there."

"I can't, Jack." Father Time stated in a weak voice. "The active sand is my life support. The only surviving active sand is in this very pocket watch. I've already shortened my time here by showing you that much. I will die if I use anymore."

"I thought you wanted to die." Jack retorted, now in a foul mood from witnessing the aftermath of his death.

"No one wants to die, Jackson Overland Frost." Father Time snapped, his voice like a sharp knife as it cut through the air. "Do not confuse my acceptance for death with welcoming death."

Jack didn't respond, he just stared down at the no longer active silver sand in the bowl. It just sat there, unmoving just like any other sand you could find on the beach. For some reason, Jack felt like that was just insulting him. Jack stood there for a long while, unable to do anything other than think about how horrified Pippa had been. How devastated she had looked.

Jack had the sudden urge to get away from here. He just wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Tell me Jack, is that the Pond were the Man in the Moon gave you a second existence?" Father Time asked randomly, a hint of curiosity seeping through his voice.

"Yeah, what of it?" Jack asked, raising a depressed eyebrow at the old man.

Father Time swore, surprising Jack, and then grabbed the winter spirit's wrist. Before Jack knew what was happening, Father Time mustered up his strength and forced their way to the other side of the room. Jack tried to lessen the Time Keeper's grip, but the wrinkly hands were stronger than they looked. Soon, Jack found himself sanding alone with Father Time in the dark, holding onto his staff for what felt like dear life..

"I should have seen this coming. Why was I so ignorant?" Father Time muttered to himself as he stopped, but Jack was able to catch it. Then the man continued as he pulled Jack further away from the other Guardians. "I should have seen the signs, prepared for this."

"Prepared for what?" Jack asked, still trying to resist Father Time's strength. "What are you talking about?"

"We have no time to answer your questions, Jack. Just for orders." Father Time snapped, growing short with both himself and with Jack. Father Time continued to pull Jack forwards until they finally stopped in front of something Jack couldn't make out clearly. "Listen to me, listen very closely. You are to retrieve the white vial. The white vial was housed under a roaring waterfall before the collapse. Search for it there, Jack. Once you have it, take it to the Waters of Life and fill it up. You'll only have a short amount of time to do this, so act quickly."

"What? Retrieve what? Why? I don't understand." Jack said, growing more frustrated with Father Time the more he spoke without giving him answers. "The Waters of Life?"

"I said no time for questions, Jackson!" Father Time snapped, tightening his grip on Jack's hand until he cried out in pain. Father Time brought his face within inches of Jack, and the winter spirit felt the man's hot breath on his chilled skin. "Whatever you do, Jack, don't look for the other Guardians. Don't seek them out; don't even let them see you."

Before Jack could ask why he couldn't look for the other Guardians, and point out that they were still here in Father Time's Keep, something was forced into Jack's hand. Jack felt it, discovering that it was round and metallic: Father Time's pocket watch.

"Put that on, it will protect you." Father Time ordered with so much fierceness that Jack didn't hesitate to obey. Jack put the watch in his hoodie's pocket while listening to the older man continue on. "Whatever you do, don't lose that. That's your only ticket back, and it will be a long wait if you do lose it."

"Back where—"

Jack couldn't finish his last question. Father Time banged the ground with his own staff twice and the sound echoed ominously through the Keep. The two bangs opened a giant door right behind Jack, and the place was filled with bright, silver light. The light encased the two beings, and Jack was forced to close his eyes in fear of going blind.

Suddenly, a hand pushed backwards, towards the source of the light. Jack made a sound of shock as the light seemed to pull him in after the push. He fought against the force, but it was too strong, and he finally lost his footing. His feet left the floor, and Jack was sucked into the light like a dust bunny into a vacuum.

* * *

Just as quickly did the light swallow Jack, it spat him back out. Jack fell back to the ground, hitting a hard surface with a _thud. _Whatever Jack had been forced through, it was enough to make his body tingle as if it had fallen asleep. Not only that, but Jack had the wind knocked out of him and was too busy trying to suck enough air back into his lungs to notice a rather tall figure standing in front of him.

Jack was almost done recovering when a booming voice brought him back into reality.

"I do not treat trespassers with kindness, stranger. This is your only warning." A confidant, loud voice echoed, shaking through Jack's body.

"What?" Jack asked, dumfounded, as he continued to recover.

"I will only say it once more. Leave, you foolish boy. Or meet the consequences."

Jack looked up then, finally recognizing the voice, and saw Father Time standing ominously in front of him. Something was different about him, Jack caught onto that quickly. While Father Time wore the same cloak, carried the same staff, he was no longer the weak old man that had held onto Jack's hand for dear life. No, now he was a very powerful, intimidating old man; there was no hint of fragility in his body.

"Father Time?" Jack stated as a question as he picked himself up while using his staff as support. He leaned against the staff, still feeling how weak his body still felt. He looked right into the old man's eyes, feeling them staring right into him and shaking his whole self. "Wha—"

"It seems you know who I am." Father time quickly interrupted, his menacing behavior faltering slightly. His boasting, stiff posture that he had held himself loosened up, and there was a small gleam in those eyes of his. "You are no straggler, are you?"

"What are you talking about? We were just talking to each other two minutes ago." Jack said as his voice rose in volume. His confusion was turning into frustration and anger. The longer that Father Time talked in riddles and in circles, the more Jack was becoming irritated with him. "You were blabbering on about something and then shoved me through, what was that, a glowing portal?"

Father Time took a second before responding, his eyes pensive and mouth set into a thin line. He eyed Jack further this time, taking in every detail he could. The scrutiny was making Jack not only self conscious, but more infuriated with this confusing old man. Jack wanted nothing more than to head back to the other Guardians and leave this place. Surly the other wondered why the scrying was taking so long?

"Did I now?" The older man finally asked, toying with Jack.

"Yes!" Jack yelled, exasperated. He clenched his wooden staff tighter as he continued, "Shouldn't you know all of this? You were with me, for god's sake!"

"Don't get short with me, boy. Even an omniscient being forgets things from time to time." Father Time snapped at Jack, reminding the winter spirit of an old cat who would claw at anyone who dares to come near it. Father Time's retort was met with silence as Jack took a few steps away, giving him more time to think. Jack waited in silence as the old man stared him down. "From what I see, this does not bode well. Come, boy."

With that, Father Time turned around and started walking down the hall. Jack hesitated before finally following the old man, but he kept a safe distance away from him, still wary. As they walked down the hall, Jack finally noticed something that should have very well been obvious to him. The hall was lit, unlike before. The ceiling above the two beings held the silver sand behind a glass casing, much like the columns. However, unlike the columns, the sand was what Father Time had called "active sand". And it was active enough to lighten the hall that they were walking through.

With a more observant mindset now, Jack looked around and noticed a lot of changes. The columns in this hall were also active, with the sand travelling upwards towards the ceiling. Just like Tooth said beforehand. The glowing silver sand lit up the hall even more so, acting like a series of bright beacons as they travelled through the columns.

Jack looked at his environment with awe, taking in the beauty of this place, but stopped when they reached a familiar dome shaped room. Jack stopped at the entrance of the room, watching as Father Time quickly made his way to the bowl. He watched as Father Time stared straight down at the bowl, and then Jack glanced to the large glass doors to see if his friends were still there waiting for him

They weren't. Jack didn't think that much of it. Most likely they grew tired of waiting and left him, knowing that he was fully capable of returning back to his home or the North Pole by himself. With that in mind, Jack returned his attention back to Father Time.

After a few minutes, Father Time looked up at Jack. "Tell me boy, what is your name?"

"Jack Frost?" Jack stated, his inflection turning it into a question. Jack hesitantly stepped forward towards the old man, wondering why all these strange questions.

"Jack Frost." Father Time said, as if testing the name. He made a face as he said it, so Jack's name must have failed the old man's test. Father Time shook his head, shaking away any remarks he had against Jack's name and continued. "Jack Frost, do you know exactly what happened to you before I found you?"

"You mean when you started yelling at me?" Jack pointed out, frowning slightly. Jack put the bottom of his staff down on the ground and then hopped on top of it, balancing on top of the staff with ease. "Yeah. You told me to find a white vial and pushed me into a bright doorway." Jack paused for a second. "That was a portal, wasn't it?"

Father Time swore loudly before nodding his head at Jack. "Yes it was, Jack Frost. But not the type of portal you're thinking of."

Jack was about to ask what kind of portal it was then, but he stopped when Father Time waved his question away with a wave of his hand. Jack frowned at that, but said nothing. Father Time took in a deep, slow breath and then turned to face Jack squarely, almost rolling his eyes as he saw Jack's balancing act.

"Jack. Listen to me very carefully. This is not the same year as you remember it." Father Time said slowly. Jack's face grew from frustrated to confused, and Father Time squinted his eyes at the boy. He would have to explain further for Jack. "What I apparently shoved you through is a very powerful, dangerous portal. A time portal. And it's one of the only ones in existence."

Jack finally caught on.

"Wait. Are you telling me that you sent me back through time?" Jack said, slightly alarmed. He jumped off of the staff and back onto solid ground. The jump was messy, and the staff fell to the floor with a _clatter. _"I'm in the _past_!"

"Well, I did not say clearly if you are in the past or the future. Do not jump to conclusions, Jack Frost." Father Time said with an exasperated sigh and a shake of his head.

"But you asked for my name. That means we haven't met each other yet." Jack pointed out as he bent down and picked up his staff. "So, I have to be in the past."

"I'm a very old man, Jack. As I said before, even an omniscient being forgets things." Father Time said before returning to the podium bowl. "However, there is a great chance that you are, indeed, in the past."

Father Time stepped forward, directly into Jack's personal space. Jack had the urge to step away from the old man, but the scrutiny in the other's eyes held him in place. Before Jack could realize what Father Time was doing, the man plucked a single white hair off of Jack's head and examined it in the light. Jack let out a complaint as he rubbed his head, but was then shushed by Father Time.

Without further adieu, Father Time returned to the bowl and dropped the single white hair he plucked off of the winter spirit's head. Out of one of Father Time's large sleeves, he pulled out a capsule and opened it up. He tipped the capsule over, and out came glowing silver sand into the bowl.

The bowl lit up, and Jack's curiosity got the better of him. Jack moved forward, peering into the bowl, and was surprised to see himself back in the dark hallway with Father Time. This time it was his and Father Time's previous conversation that was being played.

_"Listen to me, listen very closely. You are to retrieve the white vial. The white vial was housed under a roaring waterfall before the collapse. Search for it there, Jack."_ Father Time's feeble voice came from bowl. The old man watched himself with pensive eyes, mouth frowning._ "Once you have it, take it to the Waters of Life and fill it up. You'll only have a short amount of time to do this, so act quickly."_

_"What? Retrieve what? Why? I don't understand." _Jack's voice called out, loud and confused. _"The Waters of Life?"_

The two watched the conversation unfold. They watched in silence: Father Time because he was focusing too much on the scene before them to ask questions and Jack because he had been there to see this. The only sound Father Time made was when he saw his self give Jack the pocket watch. The older man clenched the side of the bowl as he saw it, and then muffled a _hmmm_ as he thought. He did not speak his mind, but rather waited as the rest of the scene.

It ended shortly after, stopping just as Father Time pushed Jack into the bright light, or the Time Portal. The light faded away, and the bowl returned to normal with only a few inactive sands to tell of the scene the two had just witnessed.

Father Time looked up at Jack Frost as soon as the scene faded away. His eyes were wide with curiosity and, oddly, benevolence.

"Show me the pocket watch, Jack Frost." Father Time ordered in a soft voice. Jack did so without hesitation. He pulled the pocket watch out from his hoodie's pocket and held it in front of Father Time. Father Time fingered it, and then let it go after a few seconds. "I have only entrusted my pocket watch to three other people. And you were not them. You are, indeed in the past."

"But why?" Jack asked, feeling more comfortable now that Father Time's softer side was showing. He put the pocket watch back in his pocket before continuing. "Why did you send me into the past?"

"Did you not listen to why I said? Retrieve the white vial and fill it up with the Waters of Life." Father Time stated matter of factly. "By the way it sounds, as soon as you do it, you will be brought back to your own time."

"Why is this white vial so important that you had to send me back in time?" Jack asked. He still needed answers, and no one was giving them. He needed to know. "What is it?"

"If I wanted you to know, Jack, I would have most likely told you why when I gave you my pocket watch." Father Time said, growing sharp again. "No, it was not important why I wanted it, but just that you retrieved it for me. So go, find the white vial; search for the right waterfall. Finish your task before your time runs out."

"Alright, alright, I go search for it." Jack finally submitted as he picked up his staff and headed to the glass doors, his only exit. "But can you at least tell me how long I have before my time runs out?"

Father Time stared at the bowl when he answered Jack's final question. He was too deep in thought to pay much attention to the winter spirit. No, he was now too focused on the future to care about Jack.

"The sand in my pocket watch will keep you connected to the Time Portal. When your deed is done, the active sand will transfer you back through the portal and back to your original time. However, the sand only stays active in my Keep; it will slowly die once you leave." Father Time muttered at a low volume. He paused for a long while before continuing. "If the active sand dies, then you will be trapped in the past, forced to relive the years until you catch up with your own time."

_"Not only that, but the Father Time from my time will die."_ Jack's inner voice told him.

With that, Jack quietly approached the glass doors. The doors slid open and Jack flew out of the Keep, thoughts of being trapped how many years in the past horrifying him. He was just starting to be believed in a eight months ago; he did not want to go through any more years of being invisible to everyone. No, the faster he finished this assignment, the faster he could get back to Burgess and Jamie.

However, Jack left before Father Time could finish his instructions, and he did not hear the old man's warning. Father Time, who was clueless of Jack's silent escape, continued to speak aloud.

"I must advise you Jack, spend a couple hours resting before you begin your search. Time travel is very dangerous, even to an immortal being like you and myself. If you leave before resting Jack, you'll tire yourself out, maybe even cause yourself to fall ill."

Of course, Father Time received no response from the winter spirit.

"Jack?" Father Time asked, finally noticing how quiet his Keep suddenly was. He looked up and saw no sign of Jack Frost. The old man frowned before calling out again, this time with more volume. "Jack?!"


	4. Ghost Laughter

**Chapter 4: Ghost Laughter**

Jack burst out of the Time Keep's tunnel at an amazing speed, the wind right at his heels. He hit the cold mountain air and sucked in a deep fresh breath. The winter spirit had felt trapped inside that place, but now he was free to spread his limbs and toss and tumble in the sky. No more Father Time to boss him around and snap at him as if he was a child, no more stuffy air to make him feel cramped.

Now with the harsh winds at his side, Jack furthered the distance from the Himalayas and headed westward. As he flew, Father Time's first instruction kept ringing through his head. _The white vial is in a roaring waterfall._ Well, there were a lot of waterfalls on earth, and a great many of them were in fact roaring. That didn't really narrow down his search.

The first one that came to Jack's mind was one in Switzerland, the Rhine Falls. Jack altered his coast slightly and headed towards Europe. As the minutes ticked by, Jack left Asia and approached the attached continent. Jack neared his target, and he touched down when the sound of the roaring falls filled his ears. Jack was relieved to feel that the ground beneath his feet was frozen. That was good, that meant that his powers had more effect in whatever month and year Father Time forced him into.

Jack sprinted the rest of the way to the falls, not bothering to hide in case anyone saw him. Whatever time period he was in, he was sure that no one believed in him. That thought made him slightly depressed, but he shoved that feeling in the back of his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He needed to get back home to the rest of the Guardians, and to Jamie.

Minutes passed, and Jack finally reached the Rhine Falls. The roar of the falls overpowered him, and he had to put his hands on his ears before adjusting to the volume of the roar. Once his ears adjusted as much as they could, Jack focused on trying to think of what Father Time meant by housed in the roaring falls.

Well, Jack could only think of one way something could be housed under a waterfall. Jack clenched his staff tightly before leaping off of the ground towards the falls. He floated mid air as he analyzed the waterfalls. He'd have to freeze the falls and search what was behind it. There would most likely be a lot of rock, but maybe there'd be a cave, or even a Keep like Father Time's. And hopefully the white vial would be in said cave.

"Well, here goes nothing." Jack said to himself as he readied his staff.

Jack positioned his staff until he was holding it like a baseball bat. He tested the staff with a couple of swings before nodding his head in contentment. Jack sucked in a deep breath, preparing himself, and then swung the staff as fast as he could at the waterfall.

The contact of the falls and the magical staff caused part of the falls to freeze. Jack's magic travelled upwards like a vine of ivy, freezing anything that it touched. It progressed within seconds until the whole Rhine Falls was frozen over. It had worked, but Jack didn't know how long it would before the water up ahead cracked the ice with its force and made the whole frozen structure topple over.

With that in mind, Jack flew around the colossal structure and searched the backside of the waterfall. He put a freezing, pale hand against the cold rock and scanned the surface, checking every inch he could. To his disappointment, there was no secret passage behind the Rhine Falls. All that was there was smoothed, black rock.

With a dissatisfied humph, Jack flew to a reasonable distance. Just in time, too, as a large crack in his icy foundation appeared. The crack widened, and then the ice structure broke in two, allowing the Rhine Falls to flow freely once again. Jack watched in awe as the ice structure shattered as it hit the base of the falls, only to be assaulted by freezing cold water overhead.

"That was kind of close." Jack stated as he started drifting away with the wind. He put his free hand in his hoodie's pocket while he thought of other waterfalls, but immediately took it out when he felt something small and warm squirming inside. His reaction was fast, and he lost altitude with his little scare. "What the?"

Something small and green shot out of Jack's blue hoodie, only to be followed by the sound of constant fluttering. The object moved quickly, but stopped just in front of Jack's face, which only startled Jack a second time before discovering what the object was. It was Baby Tooth.

"Baby Tooth? How are you here?" Jack asked as he stared at the small fairy, confused.

The small fairy let out a series of pips and squeaks before finally nestling down into Jack's downed hood. Baby Tooth grabbed the sides of the hood before speaking again. Jack was quick to understand what Baby Tooth was saying.

"You were in my hoodie when Father Time pushed me back into time, weren't you?" Jack stated as he looked down at Baby Tooth. "Well, at least I have someone to talk to now. It would have gotten incredibly lonely. Come on, we should check out a few other places while we still can before someone starts to notice all the waterfalls are freezing over."

Baby Tooth let out a small yawn and shook her head to keep herself awake, the gold feather now slightly ruffled up. Baby Tooth settled herself in and then closed her eyes, showing Jack that the small fairy was ready to sleep. Jack let out a small chuckle at the sight and then started to pick up speed with the wind.

"Okay, just one more waterfall. _Then_ we'll head back to Burgess for the day, and search again after nightfall. Jack stated as the wind propelled him forward. He received no answer from the small fairy; her steady breathing was enough for Jack to decipher that she had already fallen asleep. Jack yawned in agreement, a wave of fatigue suddenly sweeping through him. "You're not the only one tired, Baby Tooth. Let's get this over with."

With this sudden feeling of tiredness, Jack hurried his pace, making the winds stronger to carry him further and faster. Switzerland fell behind the two immortal beings rather quickly, and soon Jack found himself deep within France. Jack sweeped through the country, looking for any sight that gave away a waterfall nearby. After half an hour of flying low over the European country, Jack heard the roar of water.

Jack homed in on the sound and soon found himself in a thick forested area, away from any signs of civilizations. The waterfall was small in size, but the sheer amount of water that fell made Jack's ears ring with white noise. This was definitely a possibility. Jack grip on his staff tightened as he prepared himself to freeze a waterfall again. The winter spirit glanced down on Baby Tooth to see if she was safe and secure and was glad to see the fairy snuggling with his hood.

Without a second hesitation, Jack swung his magical staff and hit the roaring waterfall. Again, vine like designs froze the water wherever they went, but it took much more time than it did at the Rhine Falls. They stopped only halfway through, leaving only part of the falls frozen solid. Jack frowned at that and ultimately was forced to give another swing at the tip of the falls, and then a third. Seconds later, the waterfall was frozen solid.

The ice that formed was brittle, and was not Jack's best work. Jack looked at it carefully before letting out a yawn. He was growing tired quickly, and that fatigue was affecting his powers greatly. From the look of the ice, Jack could tell that he wouldn't have that much time before it shattered like glass.

There was a small crevice between the ice and the cliff from which the water had fallen from. Jack squeezed through it carefully, making sure that Baby Tooth remained stationary. Without much room to move around, Jack was quick to check for any secret passageways. Once he was satisfied that there were none, Jack left without giving the frozen waterfall a second glance. The sound of breaking ice was all the hint he needed that his work was destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Jack was true to his words to a sleeping Baby Tooth and altered his course to take them to Burgess. He traveled westward again, keeping his staff close to his body to pick up his pace. All the while, Jack grew more fatigued as he traveled with the winds. Soon, he had great difficulty keeping his head up, and more than once found himself drifting off course and towards the ground at an alarming speed.

At this pace, Jack knew he had to get home before passing out over the Atlantic Ocean that was under him. He was losing altitude every so often, and Jack could soon see his reflection over the churned waters. He could even feel the spray of the ocean on his cool face, and Jack forced himself to gain altitude out of slight fear. That last thing he needed was a bath in the ocean when he was too tired to lift a finger.

After what felt like forever, Jack saw the ocean disappear and land under his feet. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes before he reached Burgess. Now that Jack knew he was getting closer to his home, the winter spirit took this time to look at the towns he was passing by. They didn't look modern, as most buildings were made of either brick or logs. That meant that Jack was either close to the time when he was human or just afterwards. If Jack had to guess, then maybe late 1700's.

Finally, Burgess came to his view. Jack let out a relieved choke and descended onto one of the small town's roofs. He was too tired to let the wind carry him the few hundred yards to the Pond and decided that walking was much more feasible. As he walked across the wooden roof, Jack took in the town as he had major culture shock.

The town consisted of twelve log buildings, another one in the midst of erection despite the bitter winter the town was in. Three fires made up the town square, the older men and woman huddled around the fire as they conversed. There were children playing in the snow, surrounded in multiple layers of fabric to keep themselves warm. Jack looked down at this, wondering why everyone was up when morning was just around the corner.

Then he remembered. He had just traveled over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean in about half an hour. It was to be morning there in a matter of hours, but here it was just late evening. The time change had messed him up, making his plan to search at night while sleep what little sleep he needed at day now redundant.

But honestly, Jack wasn't complaining. From what Jack felt like, he was going to sleep long and hard.

Jack started making his way over to the Pond by jumping from rooftop to rooftop silently. Soon, the Pond was just in his line of sight, and he let out a small sigh of relief. He was about to leave the distance, but stopped when he heard soft, but growing in volume bickering underneath where he stood. Jack couldn't help his curiosity and hugged the roof before crawling on all fours stealthily like a spider. Jack poked his head out from the safety of the roof and looked downwards.

He had heard bickering. It was between a young man and his woman. They spoke his harsh tones, the woman poking at the man's chest every so often. It was clear to Jack that they were having a petty argument. Jack watched with tired enthusiasm for a second before an idea sparked in his mind.

Much to everyone's belief and sometimes discomfort, even North's, Jack Frost did have a naughty, mischievous side to his personality. And this couple was just going to experience it.

Slowly, Jack took his staff and held it just above the unknowing couple's heads. He positioned it carefully before waving the Sheppard's hook around in a clockwise manner. With just a tight squeeze from his hands, a wave of magic traveled through the staff towards the hook. A large heap of snow appeared out of thin air before hastily falling downwards.

The result was a cry from the woman and a stream of cusses from the man. They were covered from head to toe in wet, sticky snow. Jack couldn't help but bellow a laugh out before picking himself up straight. Jack looked to see if Baby Tooth had awoken from his laugh, but noticed that she hadn't.

"Aw man, Baby Tooth. I wish you could've seen that." Jack said aloud to the small fairy.

Of course, the fairy didn't respond to Jack. Jack shrugged his shoulders in a tired fashion before finally making his way to the Pond. He hopped from roof to roof, still letting out streams chuckles occasionally, until he reached the Pond.

Jack was quick to pick a resting place. A high branch on a sturdy tree called to him, and Jack was all too eager to jump up the tree and rest his tired head. Jack sat down on the branch, his back on the trunk and held tightly onto his staff. Jack closed his eyes and then he was out cold in a matter of seconds.

* * *

That laugh.

It was the laugh. It was the laugh that she thought that she would never hear again. That mischievous chuckle that had filled her days nonstop. That laugh that had stopped all too soon two months ago.

She had been on her way back from visiting the butcher in the village when that sound stopped Pippa cold in her tracks. She almost dropped her newly bought venison in the process as he body instantly froze. She stopped breathing for a second so she could solely focus on the faint laugh that was playing with her mind.

Before she knew it, one word escaped from her lips. "Jack?"

The next thing that Pippa realized was that she was running as fast as she could through the dense snow, towards the sound that continued to haunt her. She clung to the wrapped venison in one of her hands while holding her woolen coat close to her body with the other. Her heartbeat was beating at a fast pace, fast enough for it to ring through her ears. It didn't matter; she had to know whether she was really hearing Jack's laugh or if her mind was once again playing tricks.

Soon Pippa stumbled on Robert and Susan Williams as she turned a corner, who were somehow covered in snow from head to foot. Susan looked rather miserable as she tried to get as much snow off of her while Robert just lost his temper and stomped away. She eyed them for only a second, wondering how that much snow could have covered the two adults. It hadn't snowed in Burgess for almost two weeks; the only snow that remained was the thick, compacted snow on the ground.

But Pippa couldn't think about snow any longer. Another ripple of her dead brother's laugh erupted again, and this time Pippa could pinpoint the direction it was coming from. She broke out into a run again, following the laugh as quickly as possible. It was difficult following it, as every time Pippa heard Jack's laugh, it had changed position, and she would have to catch up to it.

As she ran, she heard the laugh grew louder. She was getting closer to the source. Pippa couldn't help but get her hopes up. What she hoped for, Pippa didn't know what exactly. That her brother was alive? Yes, she wished that. She wished that her brother was with her again. That she had one last chance to be with him.

She wished that her brother hadn't drowned.

The young girl was forced to stop in between two log buildings to catch her breath. She bent over as she sucked in fresh, cold air. The laugh had stopped, but she still knew the direction from where it last was. She just had to find it.

Just as she was about to run off again, the sound of something running on wood caught her attention. Pippa looked upward at the log buildings, wondering if there was an animal up on the roof chasing a bird or a small squirrel. The sound grew closer and faster, and Pippa wondered what on earth could be running at that speed.

Her question was answered as she saw the shape of a person jump the gap between buildings. A stunning twenty foot gap that made her suck in a sharp breath of amazement. Pippa couldn't get a good look at who it was, but her instincts told her to follow whoever it was. She couldn't help but think that it was Jackson.

She tried her hardest to follow the sound of the person's feet on the wooden roofs, but all too soon the noise faded away. And then Pippa was alone again, running through the town blindly.

Pippa stopped at the edge of town, seeing the openness of the fields nearby. The pond where her brother had drowned was just out of sight, hiding from a bend in the road. There was no one in the vicinity, no one that the laugh could originate from. Pippa froze from where she was, feeling her eyes grow teary. She had gotten her hopes up yet again, only to have them shattered.

Jack was gone; she'd just have to accept it. The laughter she heard, it was just in her head. A ghost of the laughter she used to hear every day in some sense. She had had trouble accepting Jack's death soon after the incident, and would still dream that he was with her, laughing and playing tricks. And it was only recently that she started hearing his laughter once again, echoing around her whenever she least expected it.

But this time, the ghost laughter was the clearest Pippa has ever heard it.

_"Jack. Please, I wish you were here. Please come home." _Pippa thought miserably to herself as she let out a depressed sigh. But Jack wasn't going home; it was just her, Mother and Father now._ "Well, at least I can see home from here. Mother will probably be worried sick if I waste any more time. "_

She paused for a second, binding herself up again before heading down the road ahead of her. She moved slowly, walking down the road at a pace that best fitted her mood. She stopped when she noticed that the overcast overhead disappeared, revealing a waxing moon. She looked up at it for a second, letting out a small sigh as she gazed at it.

However, that small sigh turned into a gasp when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Pippa snapped her head to the direction of the movement, only to see a dark blue blur move at a fast pace up a distant tree. It was large, larger than any animal that could climb a tree with that speed. It was human shaped; Pippa had had a good enough look to see that. But people couldn't move that fast, Pippa was sure.

Her thoughts turned dark as she thought of monsters. In Pippa's mind, monsters could certainly climb up trees with that speed. Her heartbeat started going again, but in fear this time instead of physical exertion. The young child's breaths came erratic, and Pippa wanted nothing more than the safety of a warm home and her Mother's gentle embrace. With that in mind, Pippa hurried down the road, giving neither the trees nor the Pond a second glance as she passed them.


	5. The Stranger

**Chapter Five: The Stranger**

That night, Pippa dreamt of Jack. Actually, most of her nights were filled with Jack, usually nightmares of that fateful morning on the Pond. It tended to be the same every night; Jack would save her, only to have an invisible forced break through the ice and pull Jack downwards into the icy black water. One of his hands would reach out for help, but Pippa would be too slow to grab a hold of it.

That hand would be the last thing she saw before waking up in her warm bed. Pippa wouldn't move, too terrified and despondent over the scene she had witnessed. She would pull the blankets tighter over her small body, only to let out tearless, silent sobs for her brother.

But tonight was surprisingly different for Pippa. Despite a hard time falling asleep with her dead brother's laughter still ringing in her ears, Pippa found herself sound asleep with a dream starting to form. She was back on the Pond, frozen in place as she watched the hole from where her brother had been standing close up. It was as if it was reversing as the shattered ice mended back together perfectly.

Pippa expected Jack to pop out of the Pond, but there was no sign of him. Still unable to move her feet, she twisted around, looking for Jack or her Mother. She was all alone.

Then it started to snow. If was a very soft snow fall, reminding her of Christmas morning. The snowflakes fell slowly, wafting in the air playfully before landing softly onto of Pippa. Her long, brown hair was dotted with white, and her nose was red against the single snowflake that fell on it. The morning sun made the falling snow sparkle like stars, and Pippa couldn't help but smile and giggle at the beautiful sight.

However, her small giggle was covered up by roaring laughter. Pippa sucked in a small breath and twisted her body around to see Jack walking out of the woods towards the Pond. He was just how she last saw him, carrying his favorite stick in one hand and completely barefoot. Jack didn't look bothered walking on snow and ice without shoes, rather, he looked content.

Jack came towards Pippa until he was right in front of her. Before Pippa could say anything, Jack bent down to one knee and placed a finger on her slips, shushing her. She stared into his large brown eyes, feeling as if she was about to cry. Jack smiled softly at her before finally speaking to her.

His lips were moving, but no sound came out. Pippa's smile broke as she listened to silence. Jack was speaking, but she couldn't hear a word he was saying. Jack didn't notice that Pippa couldn't hear him, and continued. When he stopped, he gave her a smile before kissing her softly on the cheek.

And as quickly as Jack had come, he stood up and made his way back into the forest. The snow grew harsher, as if a blizzard was beginning. Jack walked into the wall of falling snow, disappearing from Pippa's sight. Finally, the invisible hold that had been keeping her in place was broken, and she ran after her brother.

Pippa entered the blizzard, blinded by the white fury. She only made it several feet in before she ran into something. Pippa looked up, only to see that she had finally caught up to her brother. Or rather, her brother's ghost. It was clearly Jack; he had his face, clothing, and favorite stick in one arm. But his skin was so pale and cold to the touch that Pippa let out a gasp. His face was hallow, eyes sunken in and hair a ratty white in color. He looked dead to her.

Pippa fought back the urge to scream, but lost. Just as she was about let out a scream, Jack took her into a hug and picked her up. Pippa felt Jack's freezing arms around her tighten, and he put his head next to hers, breathing in an audible breath.

Suddenly, Pippa heard her brother's voice.

_"I've missed you_."

And that was when Pippa woke up, shattering her dream. She woke up with a start, jumping into a sitting position. Pippa was breathing heavily, and she couldn't help but look outside the window to see if it was snowing. To her relief, it wasn't. Pippa kept her gaze outside as she thought of the Jack in her dream.

He had looked like a ghost, a terrifyingly white version of the brother that she loved and missed. It should have terrified her, and it mostly did. But the hug that he had given her made Pippa second guess the terror she felt when he saw her. And his words, 'I've missed you', implied more than she knew. Now instead of Jack's laughter, those words continued to echo in her mind.

Pippa shook her head, forcing herself to put away the strange dream and prepare for the day ahead. The small girl forced herself out of bed and took off her nightgown. She dressed for the cold day before stepping out of her room, finding her Mother on the sofa, already dressed and waiting for her by the fireside.

"Pippa? Come over here, I need to speak to you." Mother said as she stared into the dying fire. Pippa didn't hesitate to sit on the sofa near the fire by her Mother.

Pippa looked at her, wondering why her mother was already dressed for day in a winter coat and hat. Mother glanced at Pippa, her eyes sad, and then they were back focused on the fire. Pippa almost sucked in a sharp breath; her mother's eyes looked haunted, meaning that something had gone wrong.

"My darling daughter. A messenger came in the middle of the night on horseback. It was Matthew Anderson, one of your father's friends. Remember him from when you were a little babe?" Mother said, a forced smile appearing on her face. But that smile was quickly replaced with a saddened, tight frown. "There's been an accident at the mill, my Pippa."

A silence grew over the household. Pippa's eyes widened, and she looked at her mother, asking silent questions.

"Is Father?" Pippa finally spoke, her voice small.

Mother sniffed in a breath before answering. "He's survived, but has been sacked due to his injuries. Your father is being sent home, Pippa. I'm leaving to fetch him, and I won't be back until next week. Ms. Johnson and her son will keep an eye on you while I'm gone."

Ms. Johnson was the elderly lady who lived in the house nearest to theirs. When both Jack and Pippa were young, she and her son Sean would babysit the two whenever Father and Mother had to travel to the saw mill. Ever since Jack was old enough to take care of the two of them, their parents had felt comfortable enough to allow them to fend for themselves. But now that Jack was gone . . .

"Do I have to stay at her house?" Pippa asked quietly, frowning slightly at the thought of spending a whole week at a partially deaf old woman's house.

Mother shook her head. "No, but she will make sure that Sean will check up on you three or four times a day. They'll bring you food so you don't have to cook, and I've already paid them for their services."

As Mother spoke, she saw Pippa's miserable expression. Mother forced herself to stop with a sigh, and she took her only living child into a hug. Pippa hugged the woman back, happy for the badly needed affection. The small girl found herself beginning to cry. Mother heard her and began rocking the girl gently, despite the fact that she had already outgrown such comforts.

"I know that this had been a testing winter. Our Jackson gone and now Father without a job. But don't you worry, darling, we'll make it through." Mother said as she patted Pippa's head. "Come spring, we'll have a new beginning. I'm sure of it."

With that said, Mother put Pippa back down and stood up. She straightened herself out before heading to the door and opening it slightly, only pausing to look at Pippa one last time.

"Please be careful, my Pippa." Mother said softly.

Mother closed the door behind her, stopping the cool air from entering their small, log house. Pippa watched her Mother's figure slowly walk down the dirt road towards Burgess. She walked past the Pond, and then turned around the bend, finally out of Pippa's sight.

Pippa was left alone in silence. She looked around the house, sensing how lonely it suddenly felt. The house felt cold, and it wasn't because of the dying fire, but that she felt too alone. Her mother had been her only companion since Jack died, but now that she was off to bring her injured father home, she didn't even have that comfort.

Mindlessly, Pippa picked herself up from the couch and turned to stand in front of the fire. She stood there and warmed herself before putting on a small log on the embers. The fire slowly grew, and Pippa put her hands near it, feeling the warmth that came off of it. She sighed and then slowly pulled a strand of her brown hair behind one of her ears.

_"I've missed you."_ Jack's voice suddenly called out to her.

Pippa looked up, surprised that the voice had been as clear as it had been in her dream. Her brown eyes immediately went to a window, staring at the Pond through it. The early morning light made the snow around it shine brightly, matching the gleam of the Pond's ice. It was a pretty sight, but Pippa felt nothing more than remorse as she stared at it.

"I miss you too, Jack." Pippa said softly to herself as she stared through the window.

Just then, Pippa saw some snow fall off of a tree next to the Pond, along with what looked like a old wooden stick. Pippa frowned, her eyebrows mashing together as she did so, and took the few steps until she was by the door. She opened the door and took a step outside, inspecting the snowfall. Just when she thought she was being unreasonable, Pippa let out a gasp as she witnessed someone fall out of the same tree.

The poor person hit the tree's other branches as they tumbled their way down to the ground. It looked rather painful to Pippa, and she ran towards the Pond without thinking. Whoever it was must have been seriously injured from such a fall. Without her coat on, Pippa started shivering in the cold, holding herself as she neared the Pond.

It wasn't long before Pippa spotted the poor man. She slowed down her pace as she neared the unmoving body lying face down in the dense, freezing snow. Pippa paused, noticing the rise and fall of the person's body, telling her that whoever it was was still alive. She gave out a small sigh as she saw the body move and she bent down over the body and pulled the man over to his other side.

She let out a small yelp and jumped backwards as she saw who it was.

"It can't be." Pippa muttered to herself as she tried to steady her heartbeat. She clawed at her shawl, trying to calm her heart. "I must be dreaming."

It looked like Jack; the resemblance was uncanny. But it looked more like Pippa's dream version of her brother. It couldn't have been her brother. He had snow white hair similar to her dream version's, not her brother's brown locks. His skin was so pale. Too pale. It looked as if his complexion had been bleached by the cold weather.

Pippa began backing away slowly, wondering if she was still dreaming, when the Jack look-alike let out a sick cough. The girl watched in amazement when the Jack look-alike coughed, his breath not visible to her.

Pippa wanted nothing more than to run, to hide from this dream version of her brother. But she had touched him, and he had felt real under her fingertips. And he was sick and in pain, that much Pippa could tell from the sound and the blackish blue colored bruises that were slowly forming on his visibly pale skin.

She had to help him; this was Jack, her brother.

* * *

Jack had never felt this horrible before in his life, or rather the life that he remembered. He never had been sick, so he never knew what it felt like to be sick. Never understood the instinctual wanting to sleep the sickness off. Never felt like he was sure that he was going to die by his body's own advances. Jack had never felt like that.

That is, until he fell asleep in the tree.

It was then that his body started to fight off whatever the time travel had done to him. It made him tired, it made him weak. It made him feel like he was going to die a painfully slow death. Jack suffered in his sleep, Baby Tooth not faring much better. His body temperature would fluctuate from his usual 23 degree Fahrenheit to above freezing and to what felt unbearably cold even to him. Jack was in a constant state of shivering or sweating, never finding a happy medium as he slept.

And his stomach felt off, which was strange since as an immortal being, he had no use for eating. Yes, he ate whenever it was offered or whenever he felt like it, but he didn't need to eat. And the last time Jack ate had been a few month ago, nowhere close enough for the food to remain inside his digestive track.

To say that Jack was ill would be an understatement.

When Jack was finally coming to, the first thing he noticed was that he was unbearably warm. It felt like he was standing right in front of an oven, which Jack usually tried to avoid doing. The heat was agonizing, making him let out a painfully sick groan. Jack felt a wet, sickly substance on his forehead, only to realize that he was sweating.

And Jack Frost never sweats.

He tried to wrestle away from the heat, only to realize that he was no longer up in a tree, but somewhere else covered in multiple blankets. That revelation made Jack stop wrestling and think for a second. Someone had found him, and then taken him away. This was not good.

The winter spirit was slow to open his eyes, wondering if whoever took him had bad intentions. Then he remembered that no one should believe in him in this time period, leaving only the Guardians and other immortal beings that could have taken him away from the safety of the tree. Jack almost let out a sigh of relief, but stopped when realizing that Pitch could have done it.

And in the state that he was in, Jack wasn't healthy enough to put up a fight with Pitch, his Fearlings, or any other malevolent beings.

However, when Jack opened his eyes slightly, he saw that he was in a log cabin. Just a normal log cabin. Jack moved his head slightly to see that he was resting on a sofa, blankets piled on top of him and a steady fire to his right. Well, now he knew where all the unbearable heat was coming from. One mystery was solved.

But why was he here?

Jack slowly and silently sat up, only to see the back of a girl's head sitting at a table. She looked like she was reading, or doing something else that had the girl focused. Jack slowed down his movements even more, not wanting to alert her.

With that in mind, Jack peeled off the many blankets to try and give his body some badly needed cool air. Jack cringed as the blankets ruffled loudly, but the girl didn't seem to notice. Either that, or Jack had been moving quite a lot in his sleep. But then he remembered, no one should be able to see or hear him.

He waited for a few seconds before shifting his legs down to the ground, the cold floorboards feeling wonderful to his bare feet.

He pushed himself upwards into a standing position, and almost lost his balance in the process. He still wasn't feeling too well, and had to focus on standing without getting lightheaded. Jack looked around for his staff, but seeing it nowhere. Jack frowned at that; without the staff, he couldn't channel his powers. He had to find it, but first he had to get out of here.

First testing if his body was capable of moving, Jack stepped forward. He still felt awful, but without his staff, he'd be more powerless and vulnerable than he already was. Jack took a hesitant step forward, being careful where he did step. Jack looked up at the girl and smiled when he saw that he didn't alert her. Now with more confidence, Jack took another step, only to step on a squeaky board.

Jack heard the girl let out a gasp and then saw her spin around in her chair. Jack's reaction was faster and he jumped backwards, landing on top of the couch's side as softly as a deftly falling snowflake. The girl watched in awe, her brown eyes trailing Jack as he jumped. That gave it away.

"Ca-can you see me?" Jack asked slowly as he got off of the couch's side, making an agonized face as his stomach shot a burst of pain through his body.

The girl let out another gasp, this one of astonishment. She stood up, out of the chair, and took a hesitant step towards Jack. Jack watched her, suddenly realizing how familiar she looked.

"It is you!" The girl whispered before she ran straight into Jack. She took his stomach into her arms and squeezed tightly. Affectionately. Jack was shocked, his brain working too slowly to remember who this little girl was. His sickness wasn't helping him. Suddenly, Jack felt warm tears seep into his blue hoodie. "I saw you in the snow and I thought it was you. I wasn't sure, but that's your voice!"

Then it hit Jack. This was his sister that was hugging him. This was Pippa.

"Pippa?" Jack asked, almost choking on his voice as he looked down at the child.

The girl squeezed him harder and let out a small sob as an answer, and Jack all but stopped breathing for a second. He couldn't think of anything to say. What could he say to his sister? He never thought that he'd ever see her in this lifetime. So Jack did the only thing he could do; act on brotherly instinct and bend down on one knee to hug Pippa back.

Jack savored the feeling of touching his sister. Never in his life did he think that he could do this again. The warmth that her body gave off didn't even bother him in his sickened state. In fact, he cherished the feeling, and maybe even started crying himself.

However, when Pippa started shivering from his cold body temperature, Jack was forced to let the girl go. Pippa unwillingly let Jack pry her off of him, but made sure that she grabbed a hold of one of his freezing pale hands.

Finally, Jack had to ask. "Pippa, how can you see me?"

Pippa looked up at his face, but looked down when the two made eye contact for some reason. She snuffed, stepping back a couple feet, taking her hand out of his. Jack looked down at her, and she glanced at his eyes again, only to look away again. Jack frowned at that.

"What do you mean?" Pippa asked, snuffling slightly. She finally caught on that something wasn't right here. "Of course I can see you."

"No, I mean . . ." Jack said as he took a step towards his sister. Pippa took another hesitant step backwards, so Jack froze. Jack made a pained expression; he was going to have to tell her. "Pippa? How long have I been dead?"

Pippa frowned as she stared right up into Jack's pale face. "But, but you're here?"

Jack shook his head, his voice ready to break at any second. "No Pippa. I— I died when I saved you. I drowned, Pippa. How long have I been dead?"

* * *

A/N: Please excuse this long delay. I had quite some trouble writing this, and it still isn't how I wanted it to be. It's good for now, but I'll most likely re-visit this in the near future.

Also, thank you for all this support! I was genuinely surprised at the number of people that have taken the time to read this. Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. It has seriously made the beginning of this December awesome for me.


	6. Two of the Same Person

**Chapter 6: Two of the Same Person**

Pippa looked at her brother's hauntingly pale face for a long second. Her brown eyes were wide with astonishment and disbelief, making Jack's breathing falter slightly as he watched her. Slowly, Pippa backed away, the news of Jack's actual death shaking the girl straight to the bones for a second time.

Jack watched the girl nervously, making a pained face once he realized that his choice of words were probably not best suited for this point in time. Jack had royally screwed up this time; the look on Pippa's face was enough for him to realize that. What kind of a brother was he to make Pippa believe that he had actually survived his dive in the icy Pond, but in all actuality had died and then reborn?

Pippa backed up into the table, bumping into the chair that she had been sitting in. As she made contact, the small girl let out a startled gasp. The fear in her eyes was evident, and Jack couldn't help but come towards her, hands held forwards to help his sister. He walked slowly as if not to set off a startled cat and made his way to Pippa.

"Pippa—"

"Please, if you are a ghost, I meant you no harm." Pippa whispered as she cringed away from Jack's reach, shutting her eyes tightly as if to protect herself from him. Jack froze in his stride, but kept his silver blue eyes on the small child in front of him. "I- I just wanted my brother back with me."

"I'm not a ghost, Pippa." Jack said quietly. Pippa didn't respond to him, and Jack frowned at himself in annoyance. Suddenly, Jack thought of an idea. Slowly, Jack sat down on the cold floorboards, coughing softly as he did so. That got the young girl's attention, and she peaked to see Jack sitting cross legged, now level with her. "I'm as real as you. I'm here, right next to you and very much alive."

Pippa then opened her eyes completely, eyeing this white-haired Jack more closely. The more she thought about it, the more it did look like that this was just a copy of her brother. A ghost. His skin looked incredibly sickly and pale, and was almost as white as the crop of snow-white hair on his head. The eyes that stared at her, nervous and hopeful, were not the same warm brown ones that Pippa remembered. They were now a cold, harsh silver blue that secretly frightened the poor girl. Not only that, but the clothes that Jack was wearing seemed . . . otherworldly.

But he spoke with so much sincerity that Pippa found herself slowly moving towards the blanched version of her brother. Before Pippa knew it, she was reaching out, index finger pointing, and poked Jack on his chest. She had expected it to go through for some odd reason, but soon found out that Jack was still a solid person. Pippa poked Jack a few more times before freezing when she saw Jack raise a hand up to hers. Slowly, Jack took her extended hand and gave it a loving squeeze.

This time, Pippa felt how cold Jack's hand was. She fought back the urge to pull her hand away and warm it up by the fireside. The chill from Jack seeped into the warmth of her skin, making it tingle as if she was trying to catch a snowflake from the first snowfall. It reminded Pippa of fresh peppermint on the holidays, their parents' special gift to the two of them.

"See? I'm real. Not a ghost." Jack said with a soft smile as he squeezed Pippa's hand. "Besides, if I were a ghost, could I do this?"

And before Pippa could respond, Jack was attacking the girl's sides with his cold fingertips, tickling her until she submitted to a fit of giggles. Jack didn't relent, and soon his sister was a puddle of wriggling nerves on the floor, laughing her head off. Jack pulled the girl into his lap, wrapping his cool arms around her warm body, and was pleasantly surprised when Pippa snuggled into his body.

They remained there for a long while, content as they were, even when Jack's chill seeped into Pippa's body. It served as proof for Pippa, letting her know that Jack was indeed here, and very much alive. Pippa strangely didn't mind the cold, but it did make her curious.

"Jack?" Pippa asked quietly.

"Hm?" Jack hummed.

"Why are you so cold?" Pippa asked, this time her voice slightly louder than before.

With that, Jack swiftly dropped his arms from Pippa's sides. He quickly pushed the girl off of his lap and disappeared from her senses in less than a second. Pippa turned around to look for Jack, but oddly found her brother already on the other side of the room sitting on top of the sofa like a cat, perfectly balanced. He was holding his arms in a manner of embarrassment, and he was not meeting Pippa's eyes.

"Jack?"

"It has something to do with my death." Jack muttered.

Pippa frowned as she stood up. She walked towards Jack, but paused when she was as few feet away from him. She crossed her arms, trying to muster up some warmth into her body after snuggling with Jack. As she did so, Jack couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"But I thought you said that you weren't a ghost, Jack." Pippa pointed out.

Jack shook his head as he ran a hand through his snow-white hair. "I'm not. But I did die, Pippa. I was brought back to life, by the Man in the Moon. He saw me save you back on the Pond and made me into the spirit of winter."

With the blank look on Pippa's face, Jack could tell that what he was saying wasn't going through the confused girl. Jack sighed and shook his head. He plopped down into a sitting position on the sofa, finally noticing that he was shivering. Not from the cold, but from the chills of whatever sickness he had contracted. A few seconds passed and then Jack felt the sofa move under him as Pippa sat down next to him.

"What I mean is . . ." Jack struggled to find the right words. He paused and coughed, sounding like he was about to cough up a lung. After that, a silence grew over the two of them as Pippa waited. "I'm not human. At least, not anymore. I'm a spirit, Pippa. That's why I asked you how you can see me. You can only see spirits if you believe in them."

Pippa was silent as she thought for a few seconds.

"Jack, I never stopped hoping that you were still alive." Pippa muttered softly. Jack looked down at his sister, smiling at her before going into another coughing fit. Pippa frowned nervously and waited for him to stop. "I'm just happy I can see you at all, Jack. Even if you did die."

"Yeah, me too." Jack muttered as he felt the warmth of the fire begin to overbear him. With his chills growing stronger, the winter spirit recognized that the longer he stood in the warmth, the longer it would take for him to get healthy. He either had to go outside in the cold or find his staff to stabilize his temperature. Jack stood up, and then slowly made his way to the door. "I'll be right back, Pippa. I have to find something."

Pippa frowned slightly. "Aren't you going to wear shoes? It's really cold outside."

"No, the cold doesn't bother me now, Pippa." Jack said with a small chuckle. He opened the door, breathing in a sigh of relief from the breeze of refreshing cold air. "I've just got to find my, uh, my staff. It should be right in the tree with… Baby Tooth!"

The shock and fear in Jack's voice surprised Pippa. She had no chance to react before Jack slammed the door behind him hastily. Pippa ran to the window, seeing the blue blur of her brother's clothing dash through the sparse forest to the Pond. It was far faster than she had seen anyone run, but then Jack's words reeled through her head.

Jack wasn't human anymore. It hadn't really sunken into the girl before then.

Pippa watched in slight awe as her brother bent over on his knees, frantically searching for something through the aged snow. In one hand, Pippa saw her brother raise the stick that he had once carried with him wherever he went. She was amazed to see it with him, as it had also fallen into the Pond with him. But it only made sense after a while that the stick would still be with Jack even after his death.

A few more frantic seconds passed, and Jack had finally found what he had been looking for. Jack brought a cupped hand close to his face and his piercing eyes inspected whatever was in it. A frown formed, and Pippa realized that something wasn't right. Jack's head snapped up and looked at her, his face frightening hers.

"Pippa, get the fire going!" Jack shouted with a worried tone of voice.

She nodded in compliance and turned inside. Pippa rushed to the fireside and put a new log on the dying embers. The young girl turned around to grab another log, but jumped when she saw that Jack was already inside only seconds after giving her a panicked order. Jack was fast, incredibly fast. The white haired spirit set his staff down against the sofa and quickly grabbed the fire stoker. The fire roared with life, and Jack let out a sigh of relief despite looking clammy and unhealthy.

"Thank you Pippa." Jack muttered as he put a hand on her head and affectionately rubbed it. "I think she'll be alright."

"She?" Pippa questioningly looked up to her brother.

That was when she noticed that Jack was still holding one of his hands in a cupped position. Jack smiled softly before crouching down to her level to show the young girl what he was holding in his pale white hands. Pippa peered over to get a good look, but frowned in disappointment.

He was holding nothing in his hands.

"Isn't she beautiful? Her name is Baby Tooth." Jack said as he continued to look down into his empty hand. He smiled affectionately before placing his hand on the sofa and slipping it off gently, as if he was putting something small and fragile down. "She's been a good friend to me; I think you'll like her once she warms up."

Pippa remained silent before looking up at her brother in a questioningly manner. She must have gone insane. Her dead brother was now back, claiming to be alive and in control of the forces of winter. And now he was speaking to figures that did not exist. Pippa shook these thoughts out of her head, choosing not to believe them at this time and went for a more direct approach on the situation.

"Jack, I don't see anything there." Pippa said as she stared at the empty sofa.

That one statement made Jack freeze in place. This made Pippa frightened, and she was unsure of why. He remained where he stood, unmoving with a look of horror and grief plastered onto his pale face. It took a long moment for Jack to break his pause, and when he did, he took Pippa into an awkward hug. A few seconds later and Pippa realized that Jack might have been on the verge of tears.

"Oh Pippa. How old are you?" Jack asked, his voice faltering slightly. He waited for an answer, but Pippa was too confused about why he was asking it to respond. His hold tightened, and Jack asked with a bit more force. "Please Pippa, how old?"

Pippa gulped. "I'm twelve."

He sucked in a breath. "You're getting old. So old." He gave her one last tight squeeze before letting her go and picking up his staff. He looked at his younger sister and frowned. "But you shouldn't be _that_ old yet. You should still believe in her."

Pippa was getting fed up with not knowing what Jack was talking about. She pouted as she confronted Jack.

"With who, Jack?"

Jack frowned slightly again with her last question, which made Pippa only slightly more irritated. She was so confused, and it seemed that she wasn't going to get any straight answers from Jack, either because he didn't know what was going on also, or that he just didn't want to admit it. Pippa was a sweet girl, but she did have a bit of a temper behind her when someone wasn't telling her something important.

Suddenly Jack asked, "Do you still believe in Santa Clause, Pippa? Or Father Christmas?"

Hesitantly, Pippa shook her head. Jack's frown deepened and then he began to pace around the small living area. Pippa watched him nervously, unsure of what he was thinking or what exactly was going on. Jack began to mumble to himself under his breath, and Pippa couldn't catch the words that he was playing around with. The small girl was only able to catch a few words: show and believe.

With that Jack exclaimed "Perfect!" and rushed forward towards Pippa. Pippa jumped backwards and looked up at her pale brother, confused and visibly startled. Jack didn't seem to notice how startled Pippa was; he grabbed her by the hand and picked her up as if she was as light as a feather. Somehow Jack had managed to put the young girl up on his back safely and he headed towards the door, picking up his old wooden staff on the way out.

"Sounds like you got a bad case of Premature Disbelief-ism, Pippa. I'm going to cure you of that as soon as possible." Jack said, a hint of a smile audible in his voice. He stopped and looked back at their house. "I'll be back for you, Baby Tooth. Hopefully with a believer."

Pippa clutched to her brother tightly, paying no attention to the bitterness that was radiating off of his body. She watched the world pass by them as Jack started running towards the Pond. She listened to his breathing, wondering if he would tire out, but could only hear that mischievous chuckle of his.

"What are you doing Jack?" Pippa asked as she sucked in a small breath. She squeezed her arms around Jack's neck tighter, somewhat afraid of what he was going to do. Jack didn't notice the strangle hold that the girl had on him, it only felt like an anxious, excited hug. "Please tell me, Jack. Please?"

Jack stopped, now at the edge of the Pond. He looked behind him, looking at his sister excitedly. He had to cough, but he forced it down in a futile attempt to hide his sickness. "Well, I know you've never watched it, or even heard of the story of Aladdin, but I'm going to _show you the world_."

And before Pippa knew it, Jack had jumped off of the ground. Now the two were hovering just above the tree line, looking over the snowy wilderness and staring at the beautiful, rising sun. Pippa stared at it, her stomach and mind disagreeing on the situation that she had now found herself in. Her breath caught, and her blood began to run cold.

Jack turned to look at her with his silver blue eyes. A wide, cheeky smile covered his face. "What do you think?"


End file.
